Have any of you guys created or made a homemade pond or tub for deer to drink out of. I know they sell real expensive ones just curious to see if anybody has. Feedback appreciated.
Drinking Pond/Tub
Whitetailer
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Have any of you guys created or made a homemade pond or tub for deer to drink out of. I know they sell real expensive ones just curious to see if anybody has. Feedback appreciated.
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Tcook has, if he sees this hopefully he will chime in
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^In the troughs in texas they put gold fish in to help with the quality and keep algae down
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Yeh wasn't sure that was a concern of mine also the stagnant water. Gold fish isn't a bad idea either.
Yup, definite concerns with stagnant water, midges, EHD. Tried it a few years ago but ended up pulling it because of the EHD outbreak. Ironically, that spot "dried up" and had very little deer observations, and even went looking for EHD carcasses but never found any. Fish is a decent idea. I have a giant water cooler jug that I freeze for shot luges we use for our all night ragers, which got me thinkin, probably could rig it up to allow melting ice to drip in a collection basin, so they can wet their lip curlin' snort wheezin' whistlers during these late summer drought like conditions!!
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Hmmm got me thinking now great advice!
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Re: Midges and EHD
The worm-like larvae of all Culicoides species are tiny – about 2 to 4mm long (the height of a capital letter in the text you are reading right now). After hatching from eggs, the larvae live in submerged mud at the very edge of shallow standing waters. They are found in water less than 2 inches deep. - See more at: https://www.qdma.com/can-prevent-ehd/#sthash.uoMFiyPQ.dpuf
The worm-like larvae of all Culicoides species are tiny – about 2 to 4mm long (the height of a capital letter in the text you are reading right now). After hatching from eggs, the larvae live in submerged mud at the very edge of shallow standing waters. They are found in water less than 2 inches deep. - See more at: https://www.qdma.com/can-prevent-ehd/#sthash.uoMFiyPQ.dpuf
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Yes I have a few out there, just got some kiddie pools, the hard pl ones, been out there five years still no leaks and they love it, I dug out about five or six inches to set it in the ground some, I see a lot out front of houses for trash pick up this time of year, and once you put water in it, the rain will pretty much keep water in it, I have also put out some five gal buckets, they work well, BUT you must dig out enough to get it in the ground half way or they knock it over, I have pictures of deer, and a lot of ***** using it. hope this helps, have a great season, and be safe.
Ive been making water spots (Holes) with small Agway water pans such used for goat pens... near my mineral dump sites for awhile now. Hey...those deer drink out of stagnate swamps and ponds in the wild anyway. In dry weather like now,,,I will walk in two five gallon buckets and flush in new water once a week...deer like the set ups. [ko]
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I read about that also with the stagnant water, there was a study and the deer went to the stagnant water and not to the moving water
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On my farm in Illinois, I have a small stream bed that usually has pools of water in it, I have 2 ponds and also 2 water holes which are plastic tubs. One is buried and one sits on top of the ground. In NJ, I have one big divot in the ground created by mother nature from a trees roots that uprooted , leaving a nice size hole that I actually dug out a little deeper. I also dug another one, that holds a decent amount of water with a back hoe. I have had them for a few seasons now with the exception of the one I dug this summer with no problems finding dead deer from ehd. If you are worried about ehd, use a plastic tub. The plastic tubs, I usually tip them over once or twice in the preseason If there is a lot of leaves or sticks in them, but other than that, they are maintenance free. I have observed deer drink from all of them. I watch deer come off the farms across the street from me and head to the pools of water in the stream for a drink before heading into my food plots to feed. I also watch them coming out of my bedding areas to drink after laying around all day. If you don't have a water source on your property, your deer are leaving the property for water which could put them in your neighbors sights. If your goal is like mine of trying to attract and harvest the better bucks in your neighborhood, the more features your property has, makes that deer spend more time on your property vs neighboring properties. The more you can give a deer what it needs, the more time they will spend on your property increasing your odds for success.
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Thanks for all the info!
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Yes, 2 weeks ago, I took an old kiddie pool, watersealed the inside, dug and leveled a big hole by a mineral spot, then lugged in water to fill it. Placed it in a small funnel of timber between 2 big woodlots. It gets pounded everyday. Nearest water is a creek, which is very low, down in the bottom. Create it and they will come.
Screenshot from trailcamera. Pulled the card yesterday and have about 11 different bucks on camera. Just hung a stand downwind in that double tulip behind the fawn's back.
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Screenshot from trailcamera. Pulled the card yesterday and have about 11 different bucks on camera. Just hung a stand downwind in that double tulip behind the fawn's back.
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Yes he's at least 4 1/2 yoa by now, we've seen him for several years.
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